DBWI: Who Was The Greatest President Of The US During The 19th Century?

the Apple Man

We seem to get tons of threads dealing the 20th century Presidents of the United States, but never ones dealing with the 19th century Presidents, so I decided to start one myself.

Simply put, who do you consider do be the Greatest president to serve During the 19th century?

Personally I Think It would be George McClellan. He was the first of only Three presidents to serve Three terms from 1865-1877, which shows his importance. But what really matters is how he Re-United and Re-Built the Country during and after the Civil War.

Of course, some mention should go to Abraham Lincoln, who did a good job considering the odds against him.

Anyway, what do you think?
 

Wednesday

I thought that Winfield Scott Hancock was at least the most interesting, what with the successful revanchist war with the British and the measures he took against the revived Southern insurgency.
 
Emperor Norton I

Emperor Norton I

I thought Samuel J. Tilden (1877-1885) was a good President. He was like a McClellan that was willing to take action. He enforced civil reform, progressive legislation and expanded the rights of the Negroes in the Union (actually giving them equality and civil rights and actively enforcing it). And he of course put down the British back Oregon rebellion of 1879-1882 (OOC: I'm gonna say under Scott, the US annexed all of the Oregon country in the war) and the Second Mormon rebellion (1880-1881; with on and off skirmishes until 1883). And of course, he increased US relations with the Russian Empire and German Reich and founded the alliance with those powers. In my mind, he's very much how Lincoln may have turned out were he not assassinated in 1864.
 
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vultan

John C. Calhoun (1828-1836), for the his tax cuts, trade incentives, and the Spanish-American War (1833-1834), which resulted in Cuba and Puerto Rico getting annexed.
 
Emperor Norton I

Emperor Norton I

vultan said:
John C. Calhoun (1828-1836), for the his tax cuts, trade incentives, and the Spanish-American War (1833-1834), which resulted in Cuba and Puerto Rico getting annexed.
Click to expand...

That loony? Sure he got a few Caribbean territories, but it was at the expense of many American lives and a war we can close to losing. And his tax cuts did a number on the still fledgling US economy and didn't help in the war.
 

Hades

And it took Andrew Jackson (1836-1844) to deal with the central bank. Thank god he destroyed that beast in time.
 

Atreus

Alexander Hamilton (1804-1812) deserves a mention, both for his healing of the early rifts in the nations infancy, which allowed the union to perservere, and for his key role in shaping the shape of the government in the 19th century. He was an effective president, and this nation owes a lot to his actions and precendent.

Adlai Stevenson I (1896-1902) did a nice job of ushering the nation into the new century. Good man, on the whole, and a pity that he met his end at an assassin's hand. His family was relativly influential in Illinois and national politics (his grandson was a decent president, come to think of it).
 

Aussie Guy

Hannibal Hamlin (1864-1869) was a pretty good one, I think. After Lincoln died of a heart attack in May '64, he brought about a fairly speedy resolution to the Civil War. His efforts in Reconstruction, though not perfect, are better than what could have ended up happening...

OOC: ASB? Possibly.
 
Emperor Norton I

Emperor Norton I

Aussie Guy said:
Hannibal Hamlin (1864-1869) was a pretty good one, I think. After Lincoln died of a heart attack in May '64, he brought about a fairly speedy resolution to the Civil War. His efforts in Reconstruction, though not perfect, are better than what could have ended up happening...

OOC: ASB? Possibly.
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OOC: 2 things-

One, McClellan was said to have 3 terms and that can't happen with Hamlin in 1864 as a full term rather than a short period between Lincoln's death and the next election (IE, for McClellan, I think it would be 1864-1868, 1868-1872, 1872-1876)
Two, the CSA was at least hinted by now to have seceded.
Three, I had Lincoln assassinated. Though that's mailable I guess, points one and two still stand in the way of Hamlin.
 

glenn67

Henry Clay (1844-1852) hands down. Under his administration, his American System gave us the United States National Bank and the birth of the interstate highway. In foreign affairs, the US signed a treaty of friendship with the Republic of Texas. Clay saw Texas as a buffer against Mexican invasion.

In his second term, Clay propsed a compromise on the slavery issue by ending its expansion into any new territories and states, and offering manumission of the slaves. Any states not outlawing slavery by 1862 would be allowed to secede from the union. Every Southern state accepted manumission. Some slaveholders chose to move to Texas with their slaves.

While Clay's actions prevented the breakup of the union, the slavery issue resulted in the Texan Civil War (1861-1863). And without American military assistance under the leadership of Generals Robert E. Lee, Ulysses S. Grant, and Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson, President Sam Houston would have fled Austin and sought asylum at the US Embassy. It would take another 100 years for blacks to achieve voting rights in the South.

African-Americans would express their gratitude by voting for the Whigs because it was "the party of Clay" (outside the South which instituted Jim Crow laws) until the 1930s.
 

Coiler

Well, I think that William T. Sampson (1896-1902) was just the man for the last part of the 19th century. After all, what better man to bring America into the new century than an old navy man used to machinery and technology?

Shame that he didn't survive his second term, though.
 

Deleted member 5719

Coiler said:
Well, I think that William T. Sampson (1896-1902) was just the man for the last part of the 19th century. After all, what better man to bring America into the new century than an old navy man used to machinery and technology?

Shame that he didn't survive his second term, though.
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It's just a shame he was assassinated, his accidency Winston Churchill lost you Cuba!
 

the Apple Man

OOC:
This is the list so far....


1801:
1805:Alexander Hamilton
1809:Alexander Hamilton
1813:
1817:
1821:
1825:
1829:John C. Calhoun
1833:John C. Calhoun
1837:Andrew Jackson
1841:Andrew Jackson
1845:Henry Clay
1849:Henry Clay
1853:
1857:
1861:Abraham Lincoln*
1864:Hannibal Hamlin
1865:George McClellan
1869:George McClellan
1873:George McClellan
1877:Samuel J. Tilden
1881:Samuel J. Tilden
1885:
1889:
1893:
1897:Adlai Stevenson the 1st
1901:Adlai Stevenson the 1st*

*Assassinated

Winfield Scott Hancock was said to have served as well, but no dates were given.William T. Sampson was also claimed, but this
contradicted an earlier post, so he has been left off.
 

Wednesday

I suppose Hancock would have to have been elected in 1884, to have served the 1885-9 term. Just one term, since he's getting old. Having the OTL death of 1886 wouldn't work out, too, so he'll serve out the entirety of the term. :)
 

the Apple Man

OOC: This is the updated list, with Hancock on it, as Wednesday suggested.


1801:
1805:Alexander Hamilton
1809:Alexander Hamilton
1813:
1817:
1821:
1825:
1829:John C. Calhoun
1833:John C. Calhoun
1837:Andrew Jackson
1841:Andrew Jackson
1845:Henry Clay
1849:Henry Clay
1853:
1857:
1861:Abraham Lincoln*
1864:Hannibal Hamlin
1865:George McClellan
1869:George McClellan
1873:George McClellan
1877:Samuel J. Tilden
1881:Samuel J. Tilden
1885:Winfield Scott Hancock
1889:
1893:
1897:Adlai Stevenson the 1st
1901:Adlai Stevenson the 1st*

*Assassinated
 
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